Inside Hoops:

The Detroit Pistons announced today that they have recalled Cheikh Samb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

In two games (both starts), Samb averaged 13.5 points, 9.5 assists and 4.0 blocks in 31.5 minutes with the Mad Ants.

Are they going to put him on the active list (once his teeth heal)? Otherwise, I don’t see the point of recalling him to have him sit and watch when he could be getting game seasoning with the Mad Ants.

That sucks for the 3-6 Mad Ants. They lose the D-League’s top scorer, Jeremy Richardson, to the Grizzlies and now Samb who was solid in his short time down there. He could have probably helped them win a couple of games.

Special thanks to PN contributer Jay Scott for putting this together

Pistons 87, Celtics 85: A Full House Beats Three of A Kind

What’s happening fellow Piston fans? Fresh off another one of those (don’t call it a) statement games, this time with the newest flavor of the month team the Boston Celtics, the main things I learned about the Pistons would be that this team is as savvy as it gets when it comes to high pressure situations. They did to the Celtics what they have done to every flavor of the month East team this decade, which was go into their environment, when the entire country was rooting against them and humble them.The meat and potatoes of the game: Pistons win 87-85 on two free throws by Chauncey Billups with just 0.1 seconds left (Which isn’t even enough time for Knicks security to kick out another fan with a “Fire Isiah” sign). Chauncey got to the line after he pump faked Tony Allen out of his shoes and into a foul. But that game had no business coming down to that final attempt. Both sides would agree. KG was his usual self (26 points, 12 Boards). Ray Allen Was A Beast, dropping 24 including two killer triples in the 4th. Rip had 21, and Chauncey scored 28. The Celtics led for most of the first three quarters, including being up 10 in the third. But there was just never a sense that they had this one sewn up. My Mother, a basketball fan for as long as the game has existed, has a saying for games like Wednesday’s: “If They Tie It Up, They Are Going To Beat Them”. I was thinking the same thing as I noticed the Pistons would widdle the lead back down to 1, then watch it balloon back to 8 or 10. If they tie it, they will win it because they have broken the opponent’s spirit, which is exactly what happened. If it weren’t for Ray Allen (who scares the crap out of me when he has the ball behind the three-point line), that could’ve been a 12-17 point Pistons win.


Here are three reasons why the Boston Celtics, despite having their vaunted “Big 3″, are not quite ready for prime time when it comes to matching up with the Pistons:

1. Rajon Rondo is Their Point Guard. Ok, now I know this cat has steadily improved this season (He Averages 9 Points and 5 Assists per game and is shooting a staggering 54% from the field this season) and he did go off for a quick 14 in the first half on Wednesday, which included him making great moves with his speed, a couple of acrobatic And-1s and I could’ve swore I saw him throw a bucket of confetti on Rasheed late in the 1st Quarter. The problem was that games aren’t won in the first quarter. What happened in the second half and on the defensive end are why this cat isn’t ready for the big time yet. He was shut out in the second half and it was horridly apparent that Chauncey must see the Burger King when Rondo comes up to guard him because he can Have it His Way All Night against him. Chauncey Torched Rondo for 28 Points, including a Dirty Dozen in the pivotal 4th quarter, which led Doc Rivers (a great PG in his career) to put Tony Allen on Chauncey late in the game. And we all know what happened there! The Celtics will lose the point guard battle every time unless hey make a serious upgrade. Paging Dr. Beyonce!

2. Kendrick Perkins is Their Center. KENDRICK PERKINS!!! Now I’m not saying this dude should be the Second Coming of Robert Parrish, but come on! This Guy Stinks! He doesn’t play defense. He Cannot Score In The Low Post. He’s Not a Shot Blocker. He averages 7 Points and 5 Boards a game! Numbers like that might get you $60 Million from the Chicago Bulls, but he’s literally stealing money from the Boston Celtics! There was a stretch on Wednesday night where on consecutive trips down the floor, Perkins threw one ball away, blew a sure 2-Foot Lay up, and fumbled the ball out of bounds. Plus, one cannot forget the stiff rejection he took from Rasheed in the 4th quarter when anybody in Celtic Green not named Ray Allen could not find the bottom of the basket. At least when Ben Wallace was scoring 6 Points a night for the Pistons, he would grab 12 boards, make great defensive plays and block shots. I Think I Saw Perkins eating a Sandwich in the lane while Rip went around him on Wednesday. Simply put, The Pistons have three guys on their bench that could start at Center for the Boston Celtics…which Brings Us To Reason #3.

3. The Celtics Essentially Have No Bench. Can anyone name the reserves for the Boston Celtics? :::crickets::: Don’t worry, I’ll Wait! Times Up! Here’s what the Celtics have to offer off of the pine: James Posey, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt, and Leon Powe. That’s right, Scot Pollard is the first Big Man off of Boston’s Bench! Outside of James Posey and Eddie House (who never saw a three ball he didn’t like), Boston’s bench SUCKS! Give me Jason Maxiell, Lindsey Hunter, Jarvis Hayes, Arron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, Flip Murray, Primoz Brezec, and the soon-to-return Rodney Stuckey over those slugs coming off of Boston’s bench. Look at what Lindsey did to the Celtics alone on Wednesday. He came up with three steals, played tough defense, hit a baseline J, and later a triple that gave the Pistons a 68-67 lead (and they would not trail again). When it comes to the Bench, The edge goes to Detroit hands down!

There you have it! The Celtics are a Good team with a great record and three stand out starters (albeit I think Paul Pierce is overrated). While K.G. will be K.G. and Ray Allen apparently inherited Reggie Miller’s soul, and while they may be good enough to have the best record in the rancid Eastern Conference, let’s hold off on Crowning These Guys Asses until they Have Proven They Can Beat Teams such as Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah, and Dallas. Thank You For Your Time. Have A Merry Christmas, and Go Pistons!



Until Next Time…Don’t Get Attached To The Flavor of the Month

Rodney Stuckey via Krista Jahnke (Detroit Free Press):

Starting sometime soon — maybe next week, maybe, if it’s a blowout, even tonight — the Pistons will finally get to see Rodney Stuckey in real NBA action.

The Pistons announced that doctors cleared the rookie point guard on Thursday to begin full-contact practice as well as to play in games.

I’m going to have to hit up YouTube to remember what Stuck brings to the table. Seems like forever he’s been out. Once he gets re-acclimated to the team he’s going to make our attack even more dangerous and diverse. We really don’t have another guy on the roster who attacks the rack off the dribble like Rodney does, which is something that’s been missing. We’ll see better looks for the field as a result of collapsing defenses and a player like that is also able to get to the line a ton (like Stuckey’s idol Dwyane Wade).

And remember when Stuckey’s up to speed he’s the first guard off the bench, so we’re not just waiting for blowouts to see glimpses like with Amir Johnson.

Chris Webber via J.A. Adande (ESPN, finders fee - Nick):

Fourteen-year veteran Chris Webber is close to returning to the NBA, with the Pistons his likely destination, a source close to Webber told ESPN.com.

“Look for him to be back the first week of January,” the source said.

The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers had also inquired about Webber’s services, with the Heat intensifying their efforts after backup center Alonzo Mourning suffered an apparent season-ending injury to his patellar tendon in a game at Atlanta Wednesday night. But for Webber, a Michigan native, his familiarity with the Pistons players and coach Flip Saunders’ system after playing there last season appears to make them the most desirable team.

Until he signs here or somewhere else the Webber talk will not die. Is it wrong that I wouldn’t mind having Webb back now that Boston has shown interest? Or is that by design from Webber’s camp to force Joe’s hand?

How would we open a spot for him? With Flip Murray falling out of the rotation in favor of Lindsey Hunter, Dumars could shop him for picks or package him with Walter Hermann?

Chris McCosky’s Adande rebuttal:

ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande, citing an unnamed source, is reporting that Chris Webber could return to the Pistons as early as January. President Joe Dumars told me tonight that was not true. In fact, Dumars has told Webber’s representatives this week that he is content with the roster as it is and has no immediate intentions of changing it.

The Pistons presently have five frontcourt players — Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Primoz Brezec (with rookie Cheikh Samb waiting in the wings). Dumars, as I have continuously reported, made it clear to Webber in August that he was not going to have four veteran big men on the roster this season barring injury, and that if a situation ever arose where the Pistons needed to bring Webber back, it would be only as the fourth or fifth big. Dumars is committed to using Maxiell as the first big off the bench, and he wants to continue to groom Johnson. Brezec was an unexpected addition who, frankly, might have more to offer in limited minutes than Webber. Webber was not all that pleased last season when he was starting and not the featured player in the offense. There is little chance he would be happy playing five to 10 minutes a night.

If Webber is going to be back in the league, it’s probably a safer bet that he will land in Miami. They have just lost Alonzo Mourning for the rest of the season. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Webber to return to the Pistons.

The Pistons (18-7) will host the Grizzlies (8-17) @ The Palace tonight at 8pm est. The game can be seen locally on FSN Detroit.

Grizzlies’ Snapshot
Road record: 3-9
Last game: 12/19 (Weds) W 88-85 Vs. Spurs
Last 10: 3-7
Injuries: Mike Conley, Pau Gasol

This will be the second and final meeting with the Grizzlies. The Pistons beat the Grizzlies 113-103 on Dec. 11th in Memphis in a game that saw the Pistons try to give the Grizzlies an early knock-out punch but to Memphis’ credit they never stopped chipping away at the Piston leads. As a result the Pistons didn’t get the rest they wanted for the second game of a back-to-back with Houston.

Fast forward >> The Grizzlies are still losing more than they’re winning but of late they’ve gotten in some real good wins(both with out Pau Gasol out with a jammed toe). On the 15th they beat the Magic in Orlando 123-119, and they took down the Spurs at home on Wednesday in dramatic fashion with Rudy Gay hitting a walk-off three pointer with Tim Duncan all in his greeel. On Thursday they signed the Mad Ant’s 6′7″swingman Jeremy Richardson who was leading the D-League in scoring with 28.5 ppg to go along with 6.6 rpg. Also of some note Darko Milicic has been a tad depressed “My confidence level right now is really low. It’s horrible,” Milicic said. “It’s weird. I’m with a team now that needs me, and has given me every opportunity to play. I’ve got a nice contract, but for some reason I can’t even do the things I used to do.” Fun Fact: The Grizzlies are the only team averaging 100 or more points a game with a sub .500 record.

Also check out 3 Shades of Blue for a Grizzlies’ fan point of view on tonight’s game.

Rudy Gay’s walk-off 3 to beat the Spurs

Let Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, And Will Blalock warm your heart with a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells and as a Christmas bonus you’ll also get Jingle Bells the remix

Roll film…